1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to mirrors and, more particularly, to a system incorporating such mirrors to facilitate safe and coordinated movement of traffic flow within a space.
2. Background Art
There is a multitude of different environments wherein vehicular traffic is required to be coordinated, as in public parking lots, in industrial parks, within warehouses, etc. In the exemplary parking lot environment, traffic flow routes are often set up so that incoming and/or outgoing vehicles move in crossing patterns. Collision avoidance depends principally upon the skill and caution exercised by the drivers and their ability to follow designated flow patterns while at the same time stopping and coordinating vehicular movement where the flow patterns merge or intersect. Parking garages generally rely upon simple signage to identify flow direction and generally little in the way of accommodation is made for drivers to navigate locations where vehicles are required to merge or cross.
In some businesses, convex mirrors are strategically placed to allow drivers to see other vehicles at locations that are otherwise either blind or partially blind. These mirrors contribute greatly to collision avoidance and also, more importantly, may alert a driver to foot traffic that is common in parking garages, thereby potentially avoiding personal injury. Significantly, these mirrors, in addition to aiding vehicle drivers, allow individuals who are walking in these spaces to identify vehicles moving at or adjacent the same blind locations.
One problem that continues to exist, as in the different facilities where mirrors are employed, is that the mirrors may not be readily identifiable by those walking or driving within a space. The tendency of walkers and drivers in such confined spaces is to focus on their anticipated paths of movement. As a result, they may not even divert their attention quickly enough to any assisting mirrors to allow them to be of any benefit.
The assignee herein has offered convex mirrors with a relatively eye-catching border that is intended to highlight a potentially otherwise non-dominant structure that may not be in the immediate sight line of the walkers and drivers navigating a space. While these colors do avoid, to some extent, the blending of the dominantly silver mirror color into the commonly light walls and ceilings against which they are observed, these colors are, for many, incapable of drawing the attention of walkers and/or drivers away from the sight lines of their immediate route.
The mirror “blending” is particularly a problem in environments wherein walkers and drivers are exposed to either light or dark conditions or changing light conditions. For example, a driver moving up a ramp from a dark space to a roof location where there is natural light may not have enough time for his/her eyes to adjust to identify a mirror at the top of the ramp. As a result, the driver may depend upon his or her ability to directly see a vehicle to avoid collision.
The same eye adjustment problems are also existent when a driver enters a garage and experiences a significant light change in the transition. For example, at night, an individual may drive into a parking garage that is brightly lit. It may take a significant amount of time for the eyes of the individual to adjust to this increased lighting. As a practical matter, few individuals will stop or slow down to adapt to the changed lighting conditions before proceeding. Thus, they may not even become aware of the presence of assisting mirrors to realize any benefit therefrom.
Generally, safety mirrors are used in spaces that are confined and where individuals must make careful and quick decisions to avoid collisions between vehicles and contact between vehicles and walkers. In spite of the fact that safety mirrors have had the limitations noted above for many decades, those overseeing the various facilities wherein the above problems exist continue to contend with those problems because no viable commercial solutions have been devised to date. Those responsible for safe coordination of foot and vehicular traffic in parking facilities, and the like, continue to seek out better systems, particularly in spaces where personal injury is a possibility.